Marbled Wood-Quail, Spot-crowned Barbet, Tocumen Rails
Carlos Bethancourt passed on a report from José Perez of the Canopy Tower of a Marbled Wood-Quail discovered on Pipeline Road on the morning of March 19th. To follow is José's report:
David Leaman y Marjory Field fueron las dos personas que estaban conmigo. El lugar en donde vi el quail es mas o menos a unos 500 metros despues del puente Juan Grande (es en donde esta el corutu y exactamente debajo se ve el pipeline muy cerca del road). Nos detuvimos en este lugar porque habian varios Streak-chested Antpittas... alrededor. El Quail era mas o menos del tamañ de un Little Tinamou; pero muy chocolate con rayas amarillas en las alas y en la espalda mostraba una cresta mas negrusca y era bien marcado el "orange eyering". El Señor Leaman lo vio bien porque el busca por su cuenta en el libro y coinsidimos en lo mismo. Tambien lo escuchamos cantando y respondio varias veces a la imitacion. No le pude tomar foto porque en donde se detuvo solo la pudimos ver con los binos!
For non-Spanish speakers, José and his two guests, David Leaman and Marjory Field, found
the Marbled Wood-Quail about 500 meters past the bridge at the Quebrada Juan Grande. It was near an area
where the abandoned pipeline comes close to the road, where Streak-chested Antpitta can often be found;
in this case, many were seen. José describes the plumage of the Wood-Quail well, and says that Mr. Leaman
had the best looks, as he was looking at the bird and its picture in the field guide simultaneously! They were unable
to capture photos as the bird was skulking and could only be seen through binoculars. This is a brilliant find,
as Marbled Wood-Quail has not been found on Pipeline Road in years, and perhaps only a small group could be quiet
enough to enjoy the close approach of this quiet and rare species.
Tino Sanchez of the Canopy Lodge sent in the photo above, of a Spot-crowned Barbet enjoying the fruit feeders at the Canopy Lodge on February 21st. This species was not known from the Pacific slope of Coclé until a little more than a year ago. It is now seen with some regularity on the Canopy Lodge grounds, and has been confirmed as a breeder in the area. Tino also reports that a Gray-capped Flycatcher was seen on the grounds on the same day, another excellent find for El Valle.
More updates have come in regarding the rail explosion at Tocumen Marsh; Karl Kaufmann sent in excellent reports (and photos) of Spotted Rail, Paint-billed Crake. and Yellow-breasted Crake found on March 15th. Check out the Xenornis website or our own Tocumen Rails Page to track these reports.
